The present invention generally relates to a slot antenna for an electronic device. A printed circuit board comprising a dielectric material and electrodes extends into a rectangular slot in the metal enclosure of the device such that the electrodes are coupled with locations on opposite edges of the long dimension of the rectangular slot. The presence of the dielectric in the slot allows the use of a shorter slot for a given wavelength.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art, which may be related to various aspects of the present invention that are described below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
The roles of televisions and television set top boxes are expanding beyond the presentation of broadcast content. These devices are evolving into portals to other sources of content, such as the Internet, and serving as media hubs for the home. Users also increasingly expect to be able to interact with, or control, televisions and set top boxes from mobile computing devices. Providing these functions requires network connectivity.
In many households, the television or set top box is not in the same location as the cable modem, DSL modem, or other device providing local-area network connectivity and Internet access to the home. Most households also lack appropriate wiring for a wired network connection between a television or set top box and a network router. Thus, it is advantageous for the television or set top box to have wireless networking functionality.
Wireless networking, however, adds cost and complexity to a television or set top box. In addition to the additional networking electronics, one or more antennas are also required.
Televisions and set top boxes have previously used both external and internal antennas, each with significant disadvantages. In the case of an external antenna, a coaxial cable is generally used to connect the antenna to the electronics within the device enclosure. Sometimes, electronics are also placed outside the enclosure to drive a printed, or other, antenna. These external antennas have the disadvantages of requiring additional cost, additional setup, additional complexity, and additional clutter in the user's environment.
Other implementations have used internal antennas. These have generally required that at least a portion of the device enclosure be plastic, to allow radiation to effectively pass. This may lead to increased unit cost, increased assembly cost, and decreased integrity of the device. Furthermore, the remaining metal portions of the enclosure, or other metal in the proximity of the internal antenna, may cause detuning or unwanted modification of the radiation pattern.
It is a problem to build a low cost, functional antenna for use in a set top box that eliminates most of the disadvantages of previous external and internal antennas, but provides the same function. The invention described herein addresses these and/or other problems.